Utao
by Noah Hunter
Summary: Matt and Mello babysit their friend, Chris' kid...Someone is stalked? And L is alive?


-1UTAO

**(This is sort of a RP between my friend and I, being as I love the character Matt and so I usually rp as Mello and she loves L, but being as she has no character from the show, she had to make one up. Lol. My friend Dragon came up with the whole idea for this fan-fiction, so I feel it's only fair to give her credit on this too. I only typed it up in my own words because she asked me to. Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of it's characters. The only thing original in this fic is the 1 OC and she is the property of my friend. XD )**

Ch. 1: This Life

"Okay. I'll sing it for you one more time, but then you have to go to bed."

Matt sat on the couch in a newly refurbished apartment; a boy of around 3 years old sat in his lap. It was obvious to Matt and Mello whom the child resembled, being as he had large brown eyes and a mop of black hair that stuck out at odd angles just like their sensei of late. This must have been why the two had found it so easy to get attached to this mini L.

"Matt. It's 9:30." Mello said, walking into the room. He couldn't help but smile at the scene played out before him. "Time for bed."

"Aww." Matt wined playfully. "But you promised if I wasn't crabby I could stay up for ten more minutes."

Mello rolled his eyes and picked up the three-year-old out of Matt's lap. "Not you. I meant Daryl."

The red-head rubbed the back of his neck. He liked it when their friend Chris asked them to baby-sit. The apartment was nice, the air didn't smell like smoke; it was much nicer than the run-down shit-hole that Matt and Mello currently lived in. And what Matt liked most was that here, he would often find himself pretending this life was his; the apartment, Daryl. He had to admit, he saw Daryl as something of a nephew and enjoyed every moment they spent singing the alphabet and playing with blocks. Yeah - - This was the life.

"Matt!" Matt jumped as he came out of his thoughts and saw Mello standing in front of him, holding Daryl.

"Wha-? Sorry Mel. What did you say?"

Mello sighed. "Where's Daryl's baba? I can't find it."

"Oh." Matt said, scratching his head. "It's in the refrigerator. And his binky is on the counter."

Mello raised an eyebrow. "Binky?"

Matt grinned. "Baba?" He shook his head. "Listen to us. Daryl's taken away our ability to talk like big people."

The two of them couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm back." The front door closed behind Chris as she entered the apartment and discarded of her shoes in the doorway. "Sorry I'm so late."

"No problem." Matt sang as he and Mello greeted their friend at the door. "We had fun."

"Mmhm." Chris teased. "Hopefully not too much fun."

Matt and Mello couldn't prevent the flush of color that flooded their faces.

"So," Chris continued as she led them into the kitchen, "You guys wanna stay for a late dinner? I was planning on ordering a pizza."

"Well, actually," Mello said uneasily.

"Come on Mel." Matt smiled at the blonde. "Let's stay." He then turned to Chris beaming. "Any chance of us staying forever?"

Mello rolled his eyes.

After getting on the phone with the pizza place, the three companions sat down at the table to chat a bit while they waited. They talked about the Kira case and about Mello's mafia days and how Matt was mad that he couldn't defeat Nero Angelo on his new Devil May Cry game. Once or twice the subject of L was mentioned, but Chris would always change the subject saying, "L would want us happy. Let's talk about something else."

"Mommy" Daryl came out of his room rubbing his eyes with a blanket.

"Daryl." Chris turned to face her son. "Why aren't you in bed?"

Matt stood from the table and hoisted Daryl into his arms. "Come on buddy. Let's get'cha back in bed." He glanced over his shoulder at Chris and mouthed "I've got it" and disappeared into Daryl's room.

Chris smiled thoughtfully and turned back to Mello. "He's really great with kids, y'know."

Mello nodded. "Yeah. He should be, being as he's the biggest one of them all."

Chris laughed. "I have to agree with you there. So," her face turned serious. "Do you guys have any plans?"

"What?!" The question startled Mello so badly he almost fell backwards out of his chair. "I'm a guy! I can't—"

"Adoption dorko." She interrupted. "I think it would be good for ya'll."

Mello composed himself as much as he could, but he was sure that the red tinge that his face had turned wasn't going to disappear any time soon. "I guess." He forced himself to admit. "But I'm not planning on jumping into any big decisions just yet. I mean, that's a lot of responsibility."

"Yeah." Chris said. "I guess that's true."

Mello could sense that Chris's mood had just swung from light-hearted to gloomy in one second flat. He thought it might be something to do with L, but even so, risked life and limb and crossed into that territory.

"L would have been so proud to have a son like Daryl." He began. "And he would have helped you raise him right. I mean, he raised Matt and me and look how we turned out. We never had parents ourselves, but still to us, L was the greatest father we ever had."

Chris nodded solemnly. "You're right." Her mood seemed to perk up some. "And plus, I've got you and Matt helping me. So it's not all bad." She paused for a second, a smile formed on her face. "Except for when Matt eats the pie I hide in the freezer."

Mello laughed relieved. "Yeah. He's a sucker for pie."

Ch. 2: Sakura Petals

A knock at the door diverted Chris and Mello's attention.

"I'll get it." Chris said, getting up from the table and heading towards the door. "It's probably the pizza." She pulled 5 dollars out of her pocket and opened the door, but no one was there. "Strange." She mumbled. She looked around the corner hoping to catch a glimpse of the local kids, running back home after a successful ding-dong-ditch, but there was nobody. Then, she saw it. As she was just about to turn around and go back into her apartment, she had the fortune of looking down and finding a single sakura branch that had been laid on her porch. "What the-?" She picked it up in wonder. There was no card, no signature, nothing that said from where this gift came. Chris smiled nostalgically. A branch from a sakura tree. L had given her the same thing on the first day they started going out. She remembered how overwhelmed she had felt when her first true love had reached up, after hearing from her how she thought the sakura trees were so beautiful, and broke off a twig that that was in full blossom. She closed her eyes and inhaled the sweet aroma. It was as if L had never left. Chris couldn't help but feel that L was near-by. But the thought of L being alive—she knew it couldn't be true. It wouldn't ever be true.

Finally, Chris trudged back into the safety of her apartment. Matt had joined Mello at the table and the two boys were deep in conversation. She shook her head amused when she was close enough to hear the hushed banter. They had been discussing adoption. When Chris sat back down at the table, Matt and Mello turned to her questioningly.

"Who was it?" Mello asked. He acknowledged the branch next. "Is that a sakura branch?"

Chris nodded. She wanted to put them in some water right away, but she felt that holding them for a bit longer wouldn't hurt. "Someone left it on the porch. I don't know who it's from."

"Uh-oh." Matt said grinning. "Looks like Mama Dragon's got a secret admirer."

Mello leaned back in his chair, unconvinced. "Or a stalker." He hoped it was just your everyday, sane secret admirer, but then, he'd lived on his own in the worst part of L.A. ever since he was fourteen and had read over this sort of crap more than a handful of times while working on the Kira case. So, needless to say, he knew better.

"Please God don't let me have a stalker." Chris looked up at the ceiling and giggled.

It was the same over the next year. A branch of sakura petals would appear on Chris's doorstep during the spring, with no one in sight who she thought could have placed them there. Matt and Mello reassured her that, although it was a little odd, as long as the person leaving these gifts out for her was harmless, they could see no reason for her not to take them.

"But don't you think it's a bit weird that it has to be sakura blossoms?" Chris asked one day as she, Matt and Mello sat on the living room floor, building Lego structures with Daryl. The now four-year-old cackled as Matt kicked over his colorful edifice, pretending to be a giant ninja attacking a very dilapidated Tokyo city. Mello and Chris held up their arms to shield their faces from the renegade blocks.

"Yeah." Mello mused. "It is, but I mean, it is the time of season."

"Maybe the person is cheap." Matt said. He punched into another structure with a loud crash. "RAWR! And the giant ninja strikes again!"

"YAY!" Daryl cheered. "Me next! I wanna be a ninja next!"

Mello couldn't stop himself from smiling. Matt could be such a child sometimes, but at least he was having fun. Chris was thinking the same thing.

"One more time, then you have to take a nap sweetie." She told Daryl calmly.

"Aww." Daryl wined.

Matt faced Daryl with a fatherly-like smile. "We can play again after your nap, k' buddy."

Daryl beamed up at him and nodded. "Kay kay." He stood up and faced his mother. "Can I take my nap now? Matt said he'd play more if I take my nap."

"Sure." Chris agreed. She began to lead her son to his room. "I'll be right back."

"I'll get it." Chris sang, as she leapt off the chair she was sitting in. Matt and Mello watched her as she made her way towards the door and opened it. No one was there and just like always, there was a branch broken off of a sakura tree at her feet. She picked it up. But this time, instead of going back into the house, Chris stepped out onto the porch and shut the door behind her. "If only you knew how much I missed you L." She sighed. "How much everyone misses you." As she stood in the light of the sunset, she suddenly got the feeling that she was being watched, as if someone was standing behind her. She whirled around to face whoever it was she felt there and saw the figure. He stood against the wall, his bad posture making it seem as if he was carrying the weight of the whole world. L. Chris gasped, trying to comprehend what she was seeing before her. Could this really be--?!

"Chris. I have missed you too." He said.

Ch. 3: Confrontation

"L!!" Matt and Mello raced towards the door in disbelief. L, the man they looked up to and had fought to succeed, the same man that had died attempting to bring down one of the biggest criminals in the history of the world, was now standing in the doorway. He bowed to each of them in turn and shut the door behind him and Chris as they entered. Was this some kind of joke? Was this really L? Had he somehow survived after all these years?

"You're alive?" Mello was in utter shock.

L nodded. "I've been watching from the side-lines. Kira wanted me dead, so I was able to fake my death in order to back him into a corner. And just as I had planned, my successors took on the task of taking it on themselves to bring down Kira. I must admit, I am very proud of how you handled it."

Matt and Mello beamed. "Thanks."

Chris was the only one who didn't seem thrilled that L was back. She walked past him and the others without a word and ventured into the kitchen. "Matt, Mello, you staying for dinner?" She asked, completely ignoring L.

The two boys nodded uncertainly. They knew that the uncomfortable feeling that had befallen the room wasn't something they should take lightly. L didn't know what to think of this greeting. He had been sure that Chris would have been ecstatic when he turned up on her doorstep after being thought to be dead. However, he had made deductions in the past that had been wrong. Maybe he had been wrong about this too.

In a fetal attempt to cut some of the tension, L spoke, "Anything I can do?"

If Chris had heard him, she didn't make any indication that she had. She busied herself with turning the knob on the stove and getting vegetables out of the freezer to prepare dinner. The more she busied herself in the kitchen though, the more it seemed her temper rose.

"What the hell?! I should be happy he's back, but it's been 4 years and he's been alive! All this time I've been crying my eyes and raising my son as a single mother and he decides to show his face now! To Hell with him! Stupid prick!" Her thoughts were unheard by the others, but that didn't mean they were ignorant of her boiling temper. Matt and Mello knew for sure that it had something to do with L and figured L was aware of it too.

"How do I make her understand that I did this for everyone's own good?" L asked Mello in a hushed voice. The three former Wammy House orphans sat in the living room of Chris's apartment. Matt and Mello sat next to each other on the couch, while L stretched out in black recliner facing his two successors.

Matt looked at Mello, who was studying the floor. Mello wished he knew what to tell his idol. No one had ever asked for Mello's opinion before. As far as he was concerned, his whole life, if he wanted something done a certain way he'd threaten to blast his enemies to oblivion, not worrying about the aftermath of his reactions. And here was L, asking for advice on people's emotions and if he did the right thing.

"You can't." Matt said bluntly. Mello looked at him. Matt took this as his cue to continue. "Chris is never gonna really get that you did the right thing."

Mello raised an eyebrow. "You say that why?"

Matt was composed as he leaned forward. His elbows rested on his knees. "I'm gonna let you guys in on a little secret. So listen carefully." L and Mello leaned closer. When Matt was sure that he had their full attention he said, "Chris…has….boobs."

Mello sat back up and rolled his eyes. He bit into the chocolate bar he had been holding with an air of annoyance. "You figure that all out by yourself Sherlock?"

L was silent.

"No. Seriously," Matt explained. "You don't get it. I meant that Chris is a woman. That means that her mind is set to see anything a man does as wrong. L thought that staying away was for the best. L is a guy, therefore Chris sees his actions as a bad thing."

"God," Mello sighed. He knew Matt was right.

L smiled proudly at Matt. "I have to agree with you there."

Ch. 4: Truths

"You are a very good cook, Chris." L said as the four of them were finishing dinner. Daryl was still asleep in his room from what Mello had reported and so waking up the four-year-old was out of the question. Besides, Chris didn't feel that L needed to meet him. To her, Daryl was her son, not L's and that being said, why introduce them right away. L sure hadn't leapt out of the shadows when he was born.

Matt and Mello exchanged uneasy looks as Chris gathered every body's bowls and carried them into the kitchen in silence.

"Chris." L began uncertainly. "I came here hoping to straighten everything out. What I did was for your own good. It was for everyone's own good." As he said this, anger started to bubble up inside him.

This made Chris turn around. She stared L down with a look of pure, unadulterated disgust. "Four years L!" She exclaimed. "You know what's happened in four years while you were off living a normal care-free life, pretending to be dead?!" Her silent calm had finally broken and was replaced with a flaring heat that tore through her body and flooded out into the room. Chris was more than mad.

L took a step back. His already large eyes widened. However, Chris pounced on him like a cat about to devour a mouse. Matt and Mello stood rooted to the spot, staring at the scene in front of them.

Chris grabbed a handful of L's white shirt and glared up at the detective. "My son was born! All of us have been crying because we thought you were dead! I thought you were dead!" Tears welled up in her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. She hated L for what he had put her through, but all the same she was now coming to realize how much he really meant to her.

L blinked as he looked down at Chris. He understood what she was feeling. He couldn't explain it, he just knew. "I'm sorry." He whispered, pulling her into a sweet embrace. It had been four long years since he had held her. All that time having to be separated from his love had been horrible and he wanted somehow to make things right again. He was determined to.

When the two pulled away from each other, neither of them spoke. L wiped away the stray tears that still clung to Chris's face and smiled. "Please let me make things right." He whispered to her hopefully. Chris nodded in reply. She had to forgive him. No matter how mad she was at L, she still couldn't snuff out the fact that she loved him dearly.

That week passed by quickly. L began looking into houses for him and his new family to move into and even invited Matt and Mello to come stay with them. However, even though Matt and Mello were tickled pick at the idea of living with L and Chris and little Daryl, they had to decline.

"We have a place of our own." Mello told L one morning as they all sat at the table eating breakfast. "It wouldn't be right for Matt and me to move in with you guys."

"But our place is a shit hole." Matt interrupted bored, playing with his cereal. "Face it Mel, the place is so bad the rats don't even bother."

Chris raised an eyebrow at them. "That's why we're asking you to come live with us. You won't be intruding. You guys are family."

Mello shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks."

L smiled. "Mihael Keehl. It's not a crime to take help from people. Here's what we'll do. Tomorrow you, Matt and I are gonna go look for you a new apartment."

"Cool." Matt beamed.

"But-," Mello protested. He hated the feeling of being helped. It made him feel like he was being undermined and treated like a child. However, Chris cut him off by shooting Mello one of her do-it-or-else looks. "Fine," Mello agreed defeated. He leaned back in his chair and drank the rest of his chocolate milk. Maybe having a new apartment wasn't so bad after all. At least he would be sharing it with Matt. That was enough to look forward to.

Matt turned in his chair and faced the blonde hopefully. He resembled an expectant puppy, well, if puppies wore orange-tinted goggles constantly. "So you're okay with this?" He asked.

Mello nodded. "Yeah," he answered simply.

Matt just about leapt for joy, almost falling backwards out of his chair in the process. "Score!" He shouted triumphantly.

Ch. 5: Already Home

"But Mommy, I dun wanna Matt n' Mello to leave!" Daryl fussed as he watched Matt and Mello get into L's car. He didn't like it that he had to stay behind while all the adults went looking for a place to live. Chris held her son's hand as they watched the black Impala back out of the driveway and drive off.

"I know sweetie." She told the four year old. "But they'll be back. Matt and Mello are just going to find an apartment."

Daryl began to stomp on the ground. "But I don't want them to!"

The day went by with no luck. Everywhere the boys looked for apartments was either in a bad side of town or the rent was horrendous. Matt and Mello sighed exhausted as the three entered Chris's apartment once again and collapsed in a heap on one of the couches. Mello laid his head on Matt's shoulder defeated.

"Any luck?" Chris asked turning her attention from the pitiful state of the blonde and red-head on the couch to L.

L shook his head as he joined Chris in the kitchen. "Nothing. We did manage to find a place though, but Mello didn't like it for some reason."

"It was that old lady." Mello called from the living room. "She gave me the creeps."

"What are you talking about, Mel? She gave us fudge because she thought it was still Halloween. I thought she was nice." Matt smiled.

"You got the fudge from **her**?!" Mello just about had a heart attack. He tackled Matt and they both fell to the floor with a heavy thud, Mello landing on top on the red-head. "I could've been poisoned you dumb ass!" Mello had a death grip on the front of Matt's striped shirt. The goggle clad red-head looked up at the blonde unfazed.

"You watch WAY too much Supernatural." He said simply.

Chris, L and Daryl joined Matt and Mello in the living room.

Mello pulled himself off of Matt and stood up. He was craving a chocolate bar so he excused himself from the room and journeyed into the kitchen to retrieve a Hershey's bar out of the freezer.

"The offer to stay with us is still on the table." Chris said, sitting down on the arm of the recliner that L was occupying.

Matt, who was still laying on his back on the floor, smiled politely up at the upside-down images of L and Chris. "You know we would." He explained. "But I just think Mello and I would feel more comfortable having our own place. Y'know what I mean?"

Chris knew exactly what he meant. "Yeah. As much as that image of you guys disturbs me." She teased.

Mello reentered the room and regained his spot on the couch, where Daryl was now sitting. The four year old frowned at him. "You have to stay with Mommy and Daddy and me." He wined. "Matt said you have to get a new house."

Oi. That face that Daryl gave him was enough to send Mello on a guilt trip. He wanted to get a new place so he and Matt could be alone, but on the other hand, here were three people who were offering Matt and him and nice house, once it was found, and a family. Mello had been an orphan, so he didn't have any clue about what it was to have a real family and to be surrounded by people who loved him. He wondered if Matt was feeling the same conflicting emotions as he was. He considered Matt laying on the floor holding a conversation with L and Chris. The blonde took a deep breath.

"Fine." He hesitated when he noticed that everyone's eyes were entirely on him. "The reason why I was so apprehensive about getting an apartment was because I liked being around you guys. I've never had a family so...being here was a dream come true. But...now I just think it's best if we do get our own place."

L nodded in understanding. His thumb was resting on his lip thoughtfully. "Always the same Mello." He said smiling. "And just because you and Matt get your own place doesn't mean you're not family any more."

"Exactly." Chris agreed. "You guys are always gonna be family. Which means," she continued. "We expect phone calls, visits and for you two to come over on holidays." This wasn't a suggestion. It was an order.

Matt and Mello smiled. Family. As it turned out, it didn't matter where they lived or what they did, the two boys always had a home and a family to come home to.

Ch. 5: Family

"Merry Christmas!"

Christmas morning was a sight to see. Matt and Mello were sitting on the floor in the living room of L and Chris' new home, unwrapping gifts with their new "family". Daryl raced around the room making engine sounds while holding up his new toy jet-plane. They laughed as the 5 year old paraded around them.

"I think it's safe to say he won't be opening his presents from his own parents any time soon." Chris giggled as she watched her son.

Mello laughed too. "I think it's safe to say that all other gifts have pretty much been forgotten about." He then turned to Matt and said, "Yeah, thanks a lot."

Matt grinned triumphantly. "Number one. Beat that Mello." He played with a strand of Mello's blonde hair teasingly.

"Matt and Mello sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Sang Daryl as he swooped by them and darted off into the kitchen.

L raised an eyebrow as his son disappeared. "Smart kid. He is my son." He said proudly, wiping away a fake tear.

Chris smiled and pulled out a rather big, flat white envelope from among the pile of other gifts and handed it to Mello. "It's to the both of you." She told them.

Wondering what it could be, Matt and Mello both began tearing at the silver wrapping paper, careful not to tear whatever it was that was kept inside. When all the paper had been removed, Matt and Mello saw it was a painting. L, Chris, Daryl and the two of them all looked out of it.

"How did?" Mello was a bit confused.

"It took some time," Chris began, smiling at the two boys, "but we were finally able to track down Linda and we asked her to paint this for you guys."

Matt nodded, eyes still fixated on the painting. "It's awesome. She's really good."

Mello agreed. "I can't wait to hang this in the apartment." He didn't mean for the remark to sound hollow because he was extremely grateful. The painting just moved him to a point where he couldn't express his feelings correctly. He knew Matt was feeling the same way too.

Chris and L beamed. They were happy that Matt and Mello loved their gift. They had known they would.

"We're family, so it's only fair that we have a family portrait." L explained.

Suddenly, Matt stood up, walked over to his duffle bag, by the door, and protruded a digital camera. "Photo op.!" He exclaimed.

After much mayhem in trying to catch little Daryl and getting everyone into a position to where they could all be in the photo, they were finally ready.

Matt set the camera on a bar stool in front of them and set the timer. "Ready?" He said running over and sitting next to Mello. "Three….two….one…"

_SNAP!_


End file.
